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SocGen to spare 'rogue trader' Kerviel full damages

French bank Société Générale has said it will not seek the full 4.9 billion euros in damages imposed on its former trader Jérôme Kerviel, who was sentenced Tuesday to three years in jail, with two suspended, for illicit trading.

AFP - French bank Societe Generale said Wednesday it would spare rogue trader Jerome Kerviel from paying the full five billion euros of compensation awarded in a massive fraud scandal.

Societe Generale spokeswoman Caroline Guillaumin told France Info radio the bank would not enforce the whole sum awarded Tuesday by a Paris court, equivalent to about 6.8 billion dollars.

"There is no question of demanding such sums from one single man," she said.

The bank is "completely open to finding another solution which is in the interests of our shareholders and employees as well as taking into account Jerome Kerviel's situation," Guillaumin added.

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Kerviel was found guilty of fraud and breach of trust by carrying out covert stock market deals worth 50 billion euros which were discovered in January 2008 and almost brought down Societe Generale, one of Europe's biggest banks.

He said at his trial that in his current job as an IT consultant he earns 2,300 euros a month

This puts the record compensation award -- the same amount the bank says it lost because of his unauthorised transactions -- far beyond his means.